Our friends, Judy and Roy, and Mike all supported my quest to get my National Park passport stamped wherever possible. It never failed in helping us find interesting places to visit and edifying history lessons. Montezuma Castle and Well were no different.
Nestled in the Verde Valley of Arizona along Beaver Creek is a 20-room castle built into a tall and steep cliff. This may not match the modern day definition of castle, as it was home to the Sinagua people who inhabited and thrived in the area 600 years ago.
Below are photos of a diorama of how the structure may have looked when the Sinagua people inhabited the area. It shows them working and managing resources to sustain daily life.
Eleven miles down the road is Montezuma Well National Monument. It is a natural limestone sinkhole fed by an underground spring. The water is highly carbonated and contains high levels of arsenic. The alkalinity precludes normal fish and wildlife to exist in the waters, but there are five indigenous species living exclusively in the Well. These include species of snails, scorpions, and leeches which exist nowhere else. There is no swimming in Montezuma’s Well and it was used mainly for irrigation over the hundreds of years of existence. It was formed around 600 AD. The local Yavapai Native American tribe call it Hakthkyava, and it is a deeply sacred site because they believe it was where their people emerged.
We had a wonderful day exploring the homes and resources of the Sinagua people and the tribes who inhabited the area after them. Both sites have beautiful views and interesting plant and animal life.
Have you visited Montezuma Castle or Well? Since it wasn’t an Aztec site and Montezuma was never there, were you curious how they got their names?
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We love visiting here. Thanks for the report!
I love the entire Sedona area. It’s absolutely beautiful!
You two visit the most interesting and unusual places. The FLORA is gorgeous.
I’m so glad we heard about it and had the chance to visit. There’s so much to see and do. I know we won’t be able to do it all, but I’m having fun trying.
We too love going to the National Parks and Monuments. Each one is a learning experience. So much still to see.
I always feel like we missed something when we leave a location and didn’t have the time to visit. There’s no way to do it all, but we’re going to try. If not this time passing through, then there will hopefully be a next. 🙂
That was very interesting. Ancient people were amazing!
I wish their secrets weren’t gone with them. I think we could learn a lot from them.
Those structures really were amazing. I suppose defence must have motivated people to build in such a tricky location, though I’ll bet they felt proud of themselves when it actually worked …
I thought it was probably for defense also. Their homes definitely were amazing!
I agree, Dawn, how the heck did they build those houses? Thanks for sharing such interesting stuff all the time!
Things are starting to slow down for us–needed a respite. 🙂 We are doing a slow trek to Ohio for a family function in June. Traveling along Route 66 (albeit I40), so there won’t be as much sightseeing over the next few weeks. Arizona/Nevada has been chock full of stuff to do.
I love the colors on that tree! It almost looks like one of those paint by number scenes when we were kids. 🙂
I remember those! The trees were so pretty–they looked just like the desert camo of our brave men and women in the military. I’d never seen anything like them.
Awesome pictures and the history to go them, very nice article.
Thank you!